Hello my lovely readers! Today I’m going to share one of my favourite Nigella Lawson biscuit recipes with you. I’ve been making these beauties for a few years now and they never fail. They’re called Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies but I am taking the liberty of changing their name to Totally Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am a sucker for anything sweet and salty and I think that’s why I love these so much, there is a little saltiness to them that cuts through the sugar and complements the bitterness of the dark chocolate. They also have a gorgeous texture and they hold their shape well. I, on the other hand, may not hold my shape so well if I eat one more of these little suckers so I’d better stop. I went to a bridal expo today and there is nothing like the thought of squeezing yourself into a gown and paying someone thousands of dollars to photograph you to make you want to reach for a carrot stick. But, everything in moderation I say! That includes housework.

Like this:

There comes a time in every girl’s life when she has to make cupcakes. Proper, spongy, swirly-frosted cupcakes. For me, that time was last weekend for a dinner with a kidlet in attendance. See I’ve made cupcakes before but only as mini versions of other cakes, like little carrot cakes with a lousy smear of cream cheese frosting or individual lumberjack cakes which are delicious but not proper. I’ve even (gasp) made cupcakes from a packet mix 30 minutes before I am meant to be at a party bearing cupcakes. But nothing compares to the satisfaction of making your own and then licking the spoon. And the bowl. And the piping bag. Huh? What? I didn’t do that, swear!

After a little internet research I couldn’t go past this recipe for Scout’s Cupcakes. They were so famous over at Taste you’d think they’d have their own Twitter account. These cupcakes are delicious, really easy and best of all, there is no creaming of butter and sugar as the fat content comes from thickened cream. So, a big shout out to Scout!

Scout’s Cupcakes

Into a 1 cup metric measuring cup place 2 eggs and fill to the top with thickened cream
Place in a bowl and beat for 1 minute using electric beater
Add 1 splash vanilla essence, 3/4 cup caster sugar and beat for 3 minutes
Sift in 1 cup self raising flour and fold into mixture
Place in 12 patty pans
Bake in a moderate oven (I didn’t use the fan) until light golden and cakes spring back when lightly touched in the centre (about 12-15 minutes)

A little tip: when making butter frosting always get your milk (or liquid) down to room temperature before adding it to the butter. If not the butter will seize up when it comes into contact with the cold milk and the consistency wont be as smooth.

Here is a quick and easy way to add a little sparkle to your cakes or cupcakes…and who doesn’t like sparkle?!

I made these white chocolate heart cake toppers to go on some white chocolate brownies (a.k.a. ‘blondies’) I need to make for another project (more on that later). The blondies were a disaster but the toppers were a success and the method could be used with milk and dark chocolate and with different shapes. Perhaps festive shapes for Christmas or letters if you wanted to make, say, a ‘Happy Birthday’.

You will need:

Cling film

500gm white chocolate buttons or pieces (500gm will make around 20 heart shapes)

Lay the cling film over your chosen surface as perfectly as you can. If you have wrinkles or folds, the melted chocolate will seep in and your shapes may get stuck.

Melt your chocolate.

I have the best results melting chocolate in the microwave and the trick is not to let any water get in so don’t cover the bowl with cling film or the condensation will fall back into the chocolate and it will split and go grainy. Put your chocolate pieces in a clean, dry microwave safe ceramic bowl and into the microwave for 1 minute. Remove with over mitt and stir until all the chocolate is melted, smooth and there are no lumps. When you take it out there will still be unmelted chocolate but I find the bowl heats up enough that the chocolate will continue to melt while I stir. If it needs more microwave time, pop it back in for 30 seconds at a time and keep stirring.

Using a spatula or palette knife, smooth the melted chocolate over your plastic covered surface about 3-4mm thick. Work quickly and try to get the chocolate as smooth and even as possible but don’t overwork it as it will start to cool immediately and you need to get the cashous on before it hardens up! Note that if you are using marble like I did, it will harden even more quickly as the marble will be cold (or is it just my cold house?).

Sprinkle the cashous over the entire chocolate surface and then straight away start cutting out your shapes, starting from the outside and working your way in to try to get as many shapes as possible. Then eat all the leftover edges – yum!

If you don’t have biscuit cutters you could cut the chocolate into small squares or diamonds.

I tried taking photos but I was working too quickly and they were terrible so unfortunately there are no step-by-step pictures but I did include one of the chocolate covered with cashous.

Instagramming @whatmaddydidnext

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